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Scientific expertise for the benefit of society

Birdlife has since the start developed solid scientific expertise for the protection of biodiversity that provides sustainable services to society. Our expertise allowed us over the years to realise achievements on the ground and bring changes at a policy level by raising people awareness.

Birds are central to our identity because they are the best indicators of the conservation status of any given area in the world. We aim at protecting wildlife in general and based on data gathered on the status of bird species we define the status of a whole ecosystem and provide recommendations for how to improve the environmental status when needed.

Our international research center, located in Cambridge, UK, is recognized worldwide. The data produced by BirdLife’s experts is internationally acclaimed and used as scientific facts by a large range of audiences, such as the scientific community, corporations, students and governments.

The IUCN Red List is widely considered to be the most objective and authoritative system for classifying species in terms of the risk of extinction. In the latest assessment in 2012 13% of the total number of bird species in the world is considered threatened with extinction.

BirdLife also engages with high-level international groups and forums to protect species and habitats. The conservation & science team supports the Bern Convention, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA), and helps the promotion and implementation of international programmes such as the Emerald network of the Bern Convention or the Action Plan to Conserve Landbirds of CMS.

Our 45 national partners in Europe and Central Asia are almost exclusively composed by scientists and conservationists. Their main conservation activities, such as restoration of nature sites, site monitoring and data collection requires a certain level of expertise.

Our advocacy work in the European Institutions is always based on scientific facts, which give us credibility and adds value to our participation in decision-making bodies. The reliability of our expertise also allows us to contribute to the legislative process in the field of biodiversity in the EU.

The projects we run on the ground together with our national partners always respect local communities concerned. Our activities are developed in a way that they improve site protection without impacting on local traditions and ways of life. As sustainability is at the core of our work, local communities are involved in the project activities, guaranteeing an improvement of the environment and conservation work in the long term.

BirdLife’s UK Partner, the RSPB, is launching a new initiative, the RSPB Centre for Conservation Science dedicated to discovering solutions to 21st century conservation problems, reinforcing the BirdLife Partnership as a world leader in conservation.